Nifty News

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

I have sick kids. I have three sick kids to be exact. I haven't slept for a couple nights. I've been packing like crazy, calling realtors, getting hung up on daily by AllKids (state insurance). Sports season has started which means freezing my butt off at hockey, softball and baseball practices pretty much every night. But you know what? I'M the one comforting my kids when they're sick. I'M the one taking care of their needs. I'M the one providing for them. I'm the one cheering them on and taking pictures at their practices. ME. And I'm so thankful for that! I cannot even imagine choosing to miss out on all this. Or showing up a couple times a year like a distant uncle to just say "hi". I wouldn't trade it for anything. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Two nights ago, as I was working on a blog post, I heard seals barking back in the girls’ bedroom. This was concerning to me because I don’t generally keep seals in the girls’ bedroom, or you know, any room in my house. A couple minutes later, Lexi came shuffling out of her room, and in between her seal-bark coughs, she cried that she couldn’t breathe. I calmly led her into the bathroom, put a pillow on the floor for her to lie on, and turned on the shower as hot as it would go. She lay in the steam while I grabbed her some Motrin, and wondered how I got so calm about these things.

Two different people have told me it really does help to write your Congressperson about issues such as yours with Allkids. One of these people said there was an issue she had struggled with for months, and one email to her congressman got it fixed in a couple of days. It doesn't hurt to try.

Wait! You're moving? Last I read you didn't think you could. I was going to tell you if you're looking for an affordable place to live, Kankakee is great. I lived near there after I lived in Schaumburg, and the cost of living is probably 1/3 of where you are. And it's not super far from Chicago...